Please Register Here to Help Us Plan Lenny Levine's stories have been widely published in literary magazines and journals, and he received a Pushcart Prize nomination for short fiction. His mystery novels Diehard Fan and Death in the Jingle Jungle are available on Amazon and at Barnes and Noble. David Schein has authored three books, published by Burlington’s Fomite Press, with a fourth, STONES, due out soon. He spent many years in the San Francisco, New York and Chicago theater and poetry scenes, and has worked in Ethiopia where, with a troupe of street kids, he founded One Love AIDS/HIV Awareness Theater. About OZ's Lunch... Read More

Please Register Here to Help Us Plan Alan E. Rubel is a co-author/editor of a powerful collection of 43 stories about the reality of being an unpaid caregiver. The book, The Greatest Burden. The Greatest Blessing, includes stories involving a variety of areas of caregiving. As Rubel notes, "our mission is to help today's and tomorrow's caregivers through these stories." A former board member of the Central VT Home Health & Hospice, Rubel will discuss his book and the challenges facing caregivers. About OZ's Lunch and Learns: In-Person in the Ohavi Zedek’s Social Hall. No Zoom unless conditions change, but... Read More

Please Register Here to Help Us Plan One in 5 U.S. adults experiences a mental illness each year, but many of us know little about mental health conditions. Without meaning to, we may contribute to misconceptions. Some common myths are that mental illnesses are a result of personal weakness or poor upbringing – they aren’t! Learn about how NAMI Vermont is combatting these myths and promoting positive change for mental health. A presentation by speakers from NAMI-Vermont. About OZ's Lunch and Learns: In-Person in the Ohavi Zedek’s Social Hall. No Zoom unless conditions change, but a number of Lunch &... Read More

Please Register Here to Help Us Plan Tight up against the Chinese border in northern Vietnam is a mountainous, tribal area from which, almost daily, Hmong girls are tricked, drugged, kidnapped and smuggled deep inside China. There, they’re sold into coercive marriages and domestic, agricultural or sexual slavery. Disoriented, most lack the language, means and skills to escape. Most disappear forever. Long-time OZ member Sue Schein will describe how she worked with partners to design and launch workshops aimed at interrupting this practice, by teaching girls how to identify and resist grooming, negotiate their own safety and, at times, even effect... Read More

Please Register Here to Help Us Plan Germany is today home to about 120,000 people who identify as Jews: less than one percent of the world's Jews and to less than two-tenths of one percent of Germany's total population. But for obvious historical reasons there is great interest in Jewish life, as well as antisemitism, in contemporary Germany. Alan Steinweis, Professor of History and Raul Hilberg Distinguished Professor of Holocaust Studies at the University of Vermont, will share his insights into that subject based on his extensive experience living in Germany and teaching Jewish history and the history of the Holocaust at... Read More

Please Register Here to Help Us Plan Janie Cohen, past Director of UVM’s Fleming Museum, will provide an illustrated talk about the work of several artists who experienced the Holocaust directly or indirectly. Cohen will also focus on two of the former, Henryk Ross, who clandestinely photographed life in the Lodz ghetto while serving as the Jewish Council’s official photographer, and Hannelore Baron, a New York artist who witnessed Kristallnacht as a child and escaped Germany with her family. About OZ's Lunch and Learns: In-Person in the Ohavi Zedek’s Social Hall. No Zoom unless conditions change, but a number of... Read More

Please Register Here to Help Us Plan In this talk with music, composer, writer, and pianist Michael Schachter will explore his forthcoming music-theatrical project based on the history of the Terezín Ghetto, a WWII concentration camp outside Prague where the Jewish inmates resisted the Nazis through musical, dramatic, and artistic expression. In particular, he’ll focus on the musical activities of Eric Vogel, a trumpeter who founded a jazz band in Terezín called the Ghetto Swingers, and Rafael Schächter, a pianist and conductor who led the inmates in performances of such monumental works as Verdi’s Requiem. About OZ's Lunch and Learns:... Read More

Please Register Here to Help Us Plan The dying process is daunting and brings forth a plethora of emotions that are felt by all. While there are signs that indicate when someone has reached the end stages of the dying process, the most moving indicator is called “abstract speech.” Often overlooked, abstract speech offers an opportunity for a final connection with the departing person. Join Sarah Villanueva, who is both Director of Beth Jacob Synagogue and an End of Life Doula, as she explores this phenomenon. About OZ's Lunch and Learns: In-Person in the Ohavi Zedek’s Social Hall. No Zoom... Read More